“The Tell-Tale Farce" at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre -- April 3 through 13.
Thursday, April 3, through Sunday, April 13
Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, 600 Robinson Drive, Geneseo IL
The 19th-century author of some of history's creepiest stories will serve as the inspiration for mistaken-identity hilarity when Geneseo's Richmond Barn Theatre opens its 2025 season with The Tell-Tale Farce, playwright Don Zolidis' witty and wacky comedy slapstick that enjoys an area engagement April 3 through 13.
As The Tell-Tale Farce begins, the year is 1848, and Edgar Allan Poe is just coming off the spectacular success of The Raven. Unfortunately, that literary masterpiece has only earned him a grand total of nine dollars. So when a wealthy dowager commissions Poe to write her a poem for the vast sum of one hundred dollars, he leaps at the chance. The only problem is that the man who shows up to write the poem isn't Poe at all: He's actually Edgar Allan's mailman, and he's on a quest to woo the dowager's spinster niece. Playing Poe is harder than it looks, though, especially when your mustache keeps falling off, the teenage granddaughter of the house is lusting after you, and Poe's arch-nemesis, Rufus Griswold, just happens to be dropping by to settle old scores. What results in The Tell-Tale Farce is freewheeling, door-slamming slapstick ... with a touch of the macabre.
Directing Don Zolidis' comedy for Richmond Hill is Barn Theatre veteran Elizabeth Shaffer, a frequent on-stage presence whose recent productions with the venue include My Son Is Crazy, but Promising, Over the River & Through the Woods, and Drinking Habits 2: Caught in the Act. Nine area talents compose the Tell-Tale Farce cast, with the ensemble featuring: Derek Bolme; Shyan DeVoss; Eric Friedman; Elizabeth Hulsbrink; Eric Landuyt; Jacob Lund; David Shaffer; Dana Skiles; and Cali Van Zandt. Pat Kelley serves as stage manager, and additional members of the creative team include: light and sound designer Dana Skiles; costumer Suzanne Rakestraw; set builder Mike Skiles; light and sound operator Lena DeLellis; and set builder Jim Skiles.
The Tell-Tale Farce runs at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre April 3 through 13, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $12, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)944-2244 and visiting RHPlayers.com.
